Things the castle ghosts know

[alt_luna]

- What all the best dressed women wore in the fourteenth century, the really proper ones. (I've found several giggly sorts who love to talk all about fashion, but you can't much of an idea about colours, because, of course, their clothes are all transparent.)

- What all the really improper women of the fourteen century wore. Or did not wear. Oddly enough, you can learn more about that sort of thing more from the male ghosts. Particularly the ones between their late teens and early thirties. I think that at least one or two were killed by jealous husbands.

- What every Professor's favourite dessert is. Ghosts notice things like that. Except Professor Acton, who never eats sweets at all.

- The histories of all the students named on the plaques in the trophy room.

- Which students have nightmares. There are several ghosts who take a rather professional interest (I won't name any names, of course, because I think that's rather personal. I suppose ghosts must get less fussy about personal boundaries after two or three hundred years of passing through walls.)

- Ghosts can be just as lonely as people. Living people, I mean.

Comments

[alt_ron]

You've spent a lot of time talking to the ghosts, haven't you?

And that thing about ghosts watching us sleep? That's just dead creepy.

[alt_luna]

Do you think so? It seems more wistful to me, somehow. Because they would like to be able to sleep themselves. But they can't. Which is funny, when you think that people who are squeemish about saying 'dead' instead say that someone has 'gone to sleep.'

I think next week, I plan to start talking to some of the portraits. They know a lot of interesting stories, too.

[alt_ron]

No, see, what's creepy is that they told you about watching people sleep. It's like, if someone always just sleeps in their pants, or, y'know, sucks their thumb or something, or still has a stuffed toy, or whatever, the ghosts might go telling everyone? That's creepy.

[alt_luna]

Well, even if the idea that ghosts know private things about people bothers you more than the idea that ghosts sometimes watch people sleep, I don't think you have to worry too much. I don't think they go around telling people that sort of thing, really. Not very many students spend much time talking to the ghosts very much, you know, for one thing. For another thing, most of the ghosts really prefer to talk about themselves, mostly. That's another thing I've noticed.

Anyway, they don't tell me other people's secrets about how they sleep, because I asked them not to: I believe people should have their privacy.

Maybe there are other people who think it's a bit creepy that ghosts watch us while we sleep, but I don't. I'm not afraid of them, and I actually think it's rather sweet, really.

My mum always said she liked to watch me sleep. Maybe she's a ghost now herself (except if she is one, I've never seen her), and maybe she's doing it still. I rather like that idea.

[alt_ron]

Huh. I guess it'd be okay if the ghost was your mum, but I wouldn't want most of the ghosts around here watching me sleep. I mean, even Nick would scare you to death if you woke up and just saw him floating there.

Or Myrtle. Ew.

That's just

Oi!

[alt_ron]

But, um, ghosts really can't sleep? I didn't know that.

And anywiz, are ghosts really dead, dead? Y'know, really totally dead? I sort of thought they were, well, not. Really. Quite. I dunno. Have they told you about that?

[alt_luna]

No, they can't sleep. Or eat, either.

As to what they are, if not dead dead, well, that's a mystery, isn't it?

We'll find out ourselves what it means to be dead someday. Everyone will.

[alt_ron]

Oh, that's such a cheery thought!